I have a BSc in Zoology from Newcastle University and a PhD in Ecology from Oxford University. I was the first Director of the MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management in the School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University. In 2009 I swapped the dreaming spires for a tropical beach, and am currently Professor of Conservation Biogeography at the Federal University of Alagoas on the northeast coast of Brazil. My current research interests are diverse and include the use of new technology in conservation, limitations in global biodiversity knowledge and attitudes to protected areas.